Shogun of War
by Snowy Mountain
Summary: Naruto is banished after the failure of the Sasuke Retrieval Mission. 13 years after the disastrous Fourth Shinobi War; a new threat is arising and perhaps only the Shogun of War can save the Elemental Countries.  Inspired by Aragon Potter's The Raikage.
1. War Drums

**Disclaimer:** Naruto _is owned Masashi Kishimoto and not me. This story is hereby dedicated towards _Aragon Potter_ and his epic _"The Raikage".

**10/31/11 Update:** Some minor corrections added in.

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><p><strong>Border Guard Station<br>_Frost Country_**

Makoto Watanuki yawned loudly as he shuffled across the hard packed snow and rubbed his arms, trying to get some circulation going. As his country name of Frost implied, it was not exactly renowned for its warm and tropical climate.

It did have a lot of ice and snow. Tons of it. Of course, it also had quite a number of precious metals and diamond veins. Which was the sole reason why anyone would settle in this godforsaken piece of land, in Watanuki's opinion.

He had tried to be an explorer and find a hidden or untapped vein to no avail. With little money, he had tried to be a miner but found that he was claustrophobic to the extreme. There were little employment opportunities to be had … except as a member in the border guards.

It sounded like a sweet gig. Of course, no one had ever told him that he would have to wake up in pre-dawn hours and stand post, watching the sun rise and staring at the borderlands for mind numbing hours. Then he would then have to do all manner of drills before being allowed to sleep at nightfall only to wake up and do the whole thing all over again.

Once he built up enough of a retirement stake, he was emigrating. Southward. He heard that in Moon Country; the beaches were filled with beautiful women. Women who wore bikinis all year long because it was so damn hot. He had seen enough snow and ice to last him the rest of his life. He scratched the back of his neck even as he glanced over the borderlands and then frowned in the predawn light.

"What the—" he stared at the curious sight and after a moment of hesitation, ran to wake up the Guard Captain.

Five minutes later, Captain Riku came waddling up, irritated and shrugging into his heavy fleece-lined parka. He was holding a telescope and held it up to his eye as he studied the mass of people moving towards the border. "This doesn't look good," he muttered.

"Is it an invasion?" Watanuki blurted out, fingering his spear nervously.

Captain Riku snorted. As far as he knew; no invading army would consist of so many women, children, and elderly. If he didn't know better, he would have to say that this was a group of refugees. And there were a lot of them. Even as he watched, one or two of the refugees collapsed. Some stopped, probably part of the family group. But the rest weren't slowing. They kept moving like they had the hounds of hell nipping at their heels.

And considering that they were fleeing _**into**_ Frost, which was one of the coldest and unpleasant armpits of a country; that meant that whatever it was had to be pretty bad.

"I want the guard force out and under arms in twenty minutes," he barked orders. "Have half of 'em on the pickets, the rest of them should build some temporary shelters.

"When that rabble gets closer, have the guards give them a cursory once over. Make sure that they're really refugees. If they are, try to find somebody whose relatively calm and bring them to me. I want to find out why they're running," Captain Riku said calmly even as he was mentally composing an urgent message to his superiors.

Watanuki nodded even as he felt a cold feeling descend on his stomach that had nothing to do with the weather. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like this and that he would not be finding out if the women really wore bikinis in Moon Country all year long, anytime soon…

* * *

><p><strong>Shogun of War<strong>

_**Chapter 1:**_ _War Drums_

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><p><strong>Konohagakure<strong>  
><em><strong>Fire Country<strong>_

The Nanadaime Hokage sighed wearily as he stared blankly at the mountains of reports and paperwork sitting on his desk. He briefly entertained the fantasy that perhaps the First through the Fourth Hokages had actually chosen to commit suicide to escape having to do more paperwork.

He then entertained another fantasy. This one involving a Katon Jutsu and him laughing like a maniac as the stacks of paper became a gigantic bonfire.

He let out another sigh.

_How had it come to this?_ he wondered. Before his investiture as Hokage; his fantasies used to involve naked females doing inappropriate things to him. Or each other … or possibly both at the same time.

_Now they involved paperwork. Rather sad, really. _Kakashi Hatake groaned as he picked up another report and skimmed it before deciding that he didn't need to know this crap and stamped it and threw it into his OUT box.

"MY MOST YOUTHFUL RIVAL!" a loud and rather familiar voice bellowed.

Kakashi blinked and looked up to see the sparkling teeth and the garishly familiar green spandex. He replied listlessly, "Oh … hey, Guy."

It was expected of him after all. It was a game that Kakashi played for his own amusement. It was about the only fun thing that he was afforded these days. _Which was even sadder when I think about it._

"Class-A Mission successfully completed!" Guy boomed, flashing a thumbs up and produced a Mission Scroll.

Kakashi nodded, "Good work, thanks Guy. I knew I could count on you."

Satisfied, he went back to shuffling papers even as Guy departed. He briefly glanced at a drawer that contained an Icha Icha novel. _I deserved a little break don't I?_ His fingers twitched as he began to reach out to slide the drawer open when a Chunin rushed in breathless, holding a message scroll, "Lord Hokage!"

"Yes?" Kakashi asked wearily, his hand dropping away and wondering just what fresh hell he would have to suffer through now.

"It's an urgent message from Frost Village! They say that Rock Nins have invaded Lightning Country!"

"**WHAT!"**

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><p>Kakashi was glaring at the strategic maps now covering his desk as he traced routes, shaking his head in disbelief. <em>How the Hell could a massive force of ninjas bypass several neutral or hostile countries without the Leaf spotting them? <em> Even though Leaf was a shadow of it's former self, they _**should**_ have spotted such large scale movement.

There was a knock and Jiraiya stuck his head into the Hokage Office. "You called Kakashi?" he asked with a grin. Kakashi impatiently gestured the former Toad Sage to come in.

Despite himself, Kakashi couldn't help but feel a slight shock at the aged appearance of Jiraiya. The man had always seemed larger than life and boisterous. Now, he seemed … smaller. His formerly white hair was turning gray and his face was more lined. There was a hint of stiffness in his movements where there had once been casual grace. It was an indication of his rapidly creeping old age that Jiraiya had abandoned his long-time habit of popping in the windows.

The Toads had not been pleased at all at Konoha's actions at Naruto and when news had reached them of his death; the Toads had repudaited Konoha and demanded that Jiraiya foreswear Konoha as well. When the Toad Sage had reluctantly refused, he had been stripped of the Toad Contract. The loss had been much more crippling than anyone would have guessed. Deprived of his Sage abilities, Jiraiya's powers were immediately reduced to High Jounin and within a year, his chakra levels had degraded rapidly.

Frankly, Kakashi suspected that he would soon be reduced to Chunin levels. But he still possessed his hard won and invaluable experience that Kakashi desperately needed and he quickly related the news of Rock's invasion of Lightning.

Jiraiya studied the maps as well for a long moment and then, "There's no way that their passage would have been completely undetected. That many ninjas would have left some traces and signs; no matter how good they are. So, they couldn't have travelled on land. They must have used a sea lift."

Kakashi blinked in surprise. Few ninjas would utilize such a method. Ships were notoriously fragile and easy to sink. Except perhaps Water Nins who were at home on water; most Nins preferred the stability and solidity of fighting on dry land. Particularly Rock Nins, Kakashi would have thought.

Jiraiya however pointed out that it wasn't quite as big a risk as Kakashi thought. After all Lightning was one of the worst hit during the Akatsuki Wars. It's Damiyo was nothing more than a figurehead with a fragmented country that was now run by warlords and bandits. And those worthy individuals certainly wouldn't bother with any sort of naval patrols or operations; leaving them ripe for the plucking to an ocean based invasion. All the Rock Nins had to do was take a port and they had an easy access route.

Kakashi cursed as he realized that Jiraiya was probably right. "Did you have any indications that the Tsuchikage was planning this?" he demanded.

He never thought that he would actually miss Onoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage. The man was an utterly ruthless bastard but he was a practical man. His successor however was not so equipped; which made predicting his actions difficult at times. Like right now.

Jiraiya shook his head in negation. After the Akatsuki Wars, Earth Country had turned isolationist and had closed their borders to everybody. His information sources had pretty much dried up in Earth Country along with everybody else's.

Kakashi debated who he should inform first of this development. _The Fire Damiyo or the Konoha Council?_ It was a toss-up. Frankly, he rather would avoid talking to both of them.

The Damiyo was not in a very generous mood towards Konoha for years. And he would not welcome more bad news. And as Kakashi would be the bearer of said news, it guaranteed that he would not enjoy the forthcoming conversation.

And Kakashi despised the windbags on the Council. Few of them would be able to contribute anything worthwhile to the discussion.

_Maybe I should flip a coin?_ He wondered with a gusty sigh.

* * *

><p><strong>Iwagakure<strong>  
><em><strong>Earth Country<strong>_

He paused on the threshold and studied the man sitting at a huge banquet table. He was a large man. Barrel chested, thick legs, and oversized and well developed arms. He had a coarse thick black moustache and bulging eyes as well as a flushed face. It was no wonder that his enemies (and even his subordinates) referred to him as **Enma Daio**. At least out of his hearing.

Of course, his nickname as _'King of Hell'_ was only partially due to his physical appearance.

It was only through experience at keeping his face a polite mask that he refrained from shuddering as his dining companion and host tore a large strip of meat from the steak he was eating with his bare hands. He nosily chewed it before swallowing.

A servitor appeared and moved a chair, allowing the robed man to sit and then produced a wineglass that he accepted with a graceful nod. He took a delicate sip. _Heady stuff, excellent vintage, _he decided. _Probably expensive too._

In comparison, Enma Daio grabbed his own cup which was overfilled and some of it slopped over the rim before he raised it to his own lips. He downed it all in one shot, a trickle of wine snaking down his chin and staining his clothes.

Clearly, no one dared to mention to Enma Daio about such a trifling little thing such as table manners. He ate like a savage animal; grunting and shuffling as he worked his way through the meal and drink. But there was a close look in Enma Daio's eyes that indicated that this was no savage and unthinking animal driven solely by his instincts. There was a wary cunning lurking there. A fierce ambition. A furious lust for power.

He had risen up from the aftermath of the Akatsuki Wars and the shattered remnants of Iwakagure to assume the rank of the Yondaime Tsuchikage over the bodies of his slain rivals. He had quickly moved to overthrow his technical superior, the Earth Damiyo. It was said that the Damiyo had taken nearly a week before he was finally allowed to die.

The robed man could not believe that ridiculous statement. Enma Daio would certainly not permit such a torture session to end so abruptly.

It was unwise to dismiss this man as an unthinking savage or barbarian. _But it would be wiser still not to overestimate him either, _he mused to himself as Enma Daio wiped himself off with a napkin and tossed it aside. He seemed jovial. _A good sign._

"Good news I trust, Lord Tsuchikage?" he inquired.

"Yes!" he roared, thumping his fist onto the table. "I have just received reports that my men have taken the capital! Lightning is as good as mine!"

Inwardly he grimaced at that arrogant statement. It was true that political power did lie with the capital and the persona of the Lightning Damiyo; but he was a nonentity within his own country. Only the other Damiyos and perhaps the population still believed in his authority.

The various warlords, bandit chieftains, and even the small pockets of Lightning Nins remaining would all take offense at an outsider trying to claim their homeland … it was a bit early in his opinion to consider themselves as the victor. Still, it was also true that none of them could possibly withstand Enma Daio's forces. Particularly with his own … _**additions.**_

Enma Daio was gazing at him now, his eyes practically gleaming with bloodthirsty eagerness. "The reports have also been glowing with your troops' effectiveness Kabuto. You have my thanks," he said with a grim smile.

Yakushi Kabuto; former Genin of Konoha, former servant of Sasori of the Red Sands, turned second in command of Orochimaru the Snake Sanin, and most recently the Nidaime Otokage smirked and adjusted his glasses fractionally.

"It was my pleasure Lord Tsuchikage."

Kabuto added mentally, _as long as you continue to be useful to me at least._

Enma was busy gloating as he rubbed his hands together. He once more consulted his mental map. Once he took full control of Lightning; Waterfall, Frost, Forest and Hot Springs Countries would be trapped between two fronts. Refugees would undoubtedly flee towards Fire Country, straining the already devastated country's economy to the breaking point where he would swoop in. That left either Sand or the Eastern Alliance afterwards. Those were the two strongest remaining countries left.

While before he would have been content to strangle Sand with lack of trade and shipments of food and other supplies; the wily Godaime Kazekage had totally rebuilt his ninja village from the Akatsuki Wars and it was the strongest and most productive it had ever been. Using his mastery of sand, they claimed that the Kazekage had carved out a huge cavern which was the new Suna and new deep wells made them almost fully independent and self-sufficient with the ability to grow their own foodstuffs.

It looked like that strategy was less and less feasible and it was going to have to come down to a siege. Which would take both time and effort.

_No, we're going to have to take the Alliance first. Sooner, rather than later,_ Enma decided firmly as he motioned one of the servants for more wine. _Smash them first and then focus on Sand. _

_Facing a Jinchuuriki on his home turf would be bad, but Water had none of those damn demons of their own. Hell, they chose a damn woman as their Mizukage! Weaklings! And with the Alliance crushed, they would have control of the seas and the trade routes to boot._

_It was all coming together,_ he thought to himself. And soon, Noboru Takehiko; the Yondaime Tsuchikage and the Enma Daio would take on a new name and title. He would be Emperor of All. _And there was no one who would be able to stop him…_

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><p><strong>AN:** The Tsuchikage's name of Noboru means to "ascend, climb" in Japanese while Takehiko is "Mountain Prince". I thought it fitting considering his status as the Tsuchikage and his greedy, grasping nature. His nickname of Enma Daio actually refers to a Buddhist God of Death. He was frequently considered the Judge of the Dead.

I was inspired by Aragon Potter's "The Raikage" to create my own AU version. A lot of things will be different and the history of events will be drastically altered. I also despise much of the anime filler arcs so I will be ignoring most of them. I did like was the first movie, "Clash in the Land of Snow" so I will be considering that as part of my Shogun-verse. Oh and there will be **many** character deaths as I wanted to try and make this as realistic as possible. Just to warn you; only three members of the Konoha 12 (except for Naruto) are still active ninjas in the present day. The others are either dead, or if I was feeling merciful, I had them retired.


	2. A Contradiction in Terms

**6/28/12 Update: **Minor correction made, I mistakenly referred to Kakashi as the Rokudaime (Sixth) Hokage when he should be the Nanadaime (Seventh). Mucho thanks to miner249er to pointing out my mistake. I'm only human, so if you do see any mistakes, feel free to point them out to me and I'll correct them.**  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Konohagakure<br>**_**Fire Country**_

It would have surprised his former students Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki that ever since his inauguration as the Hokage, Kakashi had stopped going to visit the Memorial Stone for hours on end. That was probably because the Memorial was one of those places that had been destroyed in the Rock and Lightning Attack on Konoha after the Five Kage Summit.

Instead, he had taken to staring at the Hokage Monument. He could almost swear that the five faces were staring down in cold disapproval. Of him. Of the entire Village for their stupidity and mistreatment of Naruto. And of Danzo; his unlamented and idiotic predecessor, the late Rokudaime Hokage.

Even Tsunade who had only briefly held the post as the Godaime had her face chiseled into Hokage Mountain. No one had bothered to do the same for Danzo though even though his reign had lasted longer than Tsunade's. Hell, if anyone did, he suspected that Danzo's edifice might suffer a mischief.

Involving a shit load of exploding tags.

After Tsunade's departure less than a year after Naruto's enforced exile; Danzo managed to get himself appointed to Hokage and everything went to Hell very quickly.

Danzo was a skilled manipulator and mastermind in covert operations. However he was a piss poor administrator and diplomat. And a Hokage had to be both. He was too used to being a power in Konoha, where he merely had to bully someone in order to get what he wanted.

He managed to alienate every single major country and most of the minor ones to boot. All in all, Danzo succeeded in making himself as the most despised person in Konoha … surpassing even Naruto Uzumaki. Only Madara Uchiha managed to top him.

Even though Danzo was dead and buried (and Kakashi had taken a great secret pleasure in urinating on his gravesite), his actions would have repercussions for decades.

To this day, Konoha had barely recovered from the devastation and their economy was in the toilet. _It was a shame that he didn't have it in him to desert Konoha like Sasuke. Or to disappear like Tsunade who saw the direction the wind was blowing and got the Hell of there. Or get himself killed in action like Minato Sensei or Asuma Sarutobi or … or … _Kakashi sighed gustily as he continued looking at the stern disapproving frowns of the past Hokages. He wondered if he would be the caretaker of Konoha's quiet passing. _Not with a bang but a whimper…_

"**KAKASHI SENSEI! YOU'RE LATE!"** a loud voice screeched.

… _or maybe not. _Kakashi wiggled a finger in his deafened ear and glanced to see his pink haired student glaring at him, her toe tapping and her arms folded across her chest. _His last student actually,_ he reminded himself morbidly.

"The Council has been waiting for you for over an hour now!" Sakura Haruno barked. Then she grabbed him by his flak jacket and started dragging his limp body after her.

"I _**can**_ walk you know…" he remarked dully.

"Hah!" Sakura made an explosive and contemptuous snort. "Honestly Kakashi Sensei! You're the Hokage now! Can't you take these things seriously?" she demanded.

Not hearing a response, she turned to look … at the stuffed scarecrow dressed in a flak jacket and with a smiley face painted on that she was dragging behind her. Sakura's eye twitched and a vein starting throbbing in her forehead.

"Although you have gotten sneakier…" Sakura muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>Shogun of War<strong>

**Chapter 2:** A Contradiction in Terms

* * *

><p><strong>New Kumogakure<br>**_**Lightning Country**_

Yun sighed as he exited the strand of trees and saw the crudely made shacks and strung up tents. A newcomer would have guessed that this was a band of homeless and beggars … and not what remained of the Great Shinobi Village of Kumo.

It was heart breaking to see them come to this. Yun had always taken pride in the fact that their Village was one of the strongest and most feared Ninja Villages of them all. They were spoken with the same respect and awe of Konoha, Iwa, Kiri, and Suna.

Now, they were a joke.

The Akatsuki Wars of thirteen years ago had bled them of their best and brightest. Killer B, the Protector of Kumo and even the Yondaime Raikage A had been among the terrible casualties. And then, Pein appeared and wiped out Kumo with a single technique. The survivors were few and scattered and they lacked any powerful ninjas or leaders anymore. Many left or deserted until the few ninjas who remained were mostly the old and infirm, the incompetent, or the young and inexperienced.

And those who had fled had sought employment with the various Warlords and bandits which now controlled Lightning Country, infuriating Yun. While it was true that ninjas were mercenaries who worked for anyone for the right price; they had ethics and morals about whom they accepted missions and commissions from.

And the primary one was that they worked for the betterment of their Nation. They were it's sword, it's shield, and sometimes; it's bloody daggers in the back alleys. Ninjas might owe their allegiance to their Kage, but their Kage owed his allegiance to their Nation and it's Damiyo.

And in Yun's eyes, for any Kumo Nin to accept a position with these Warlords and bandits made them no better than nukenins who worked to destabilize their nation.

"Yun-nechan!" a young voice called out. He recognized it as one of the younger ninjas-in-training, Atsuko waving at him to get his attention.

"The old geezers want you!" she yelled.

She was also the most cheeky and inventive troublemaker in Kumo. The Jounin Council had to call her in at least once a week to spank her disrespectful ass. He nodded and went to go see what the old geezers—er the Honorable Councilors wanted.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw a man leaving the meeting hall which was a combination of wooden walls and a stretched out canopy tent for a ceiling. He was wearing plate armor and a sword, although it wasn't a samurai sword. He easily climbed onto a horse and then trotting away.

Yun stared after the horseback man for a long moment before he entered the meeting hall to find the Council all talking. He noticed that most of them looked jubilant, while one or two of the others were stone-faced and grim.

"What is going on?" he asked quietly.

"Jounin Yun! Back from your scouting mission already?" Councilor and ex-Jounin Okabe exclaimed, looking up.

"Yes, nothing of interest to report," he said stonily. He had a bad feeling ever since he saw that man on the horse and it was getting worse and worse.

"Excellent! We have just been made an offer by Governor-General Inoue for our services on a permanent basis!" Okabe said.

"Inoue?" Yun said, his hand tightening into a balled fist. Inoue wasn't the Damiyo … wasn't even a member of the nobility, wasn't even a real General or a Governor for that matter. He had been a mayor of a town. A very _small_ town.

"He is offering us enough funds for us to start rebuilding Kumo!"

Yun felt light-headed.

"We're saved!"

"**NO!"** Yun roared. "We are Shinobi! We are not Missing Nin! We answer to our Kage who is commanded by our Damiyo!"

"What Kage?" Okabe snapped back. "We don't have one! And as for the Damiyo, what about him? He hasn't done shit to help us! We didn't abandon him Yun, he abandoned us!

"What about the Genins and Chunins under our command? They expect us to lead them! We should be able to give them food and clothes and a home to sleep in, not a dirt floor! They should be able to have medicine and doctors! We should be able to supply our ninjas with weapons! Real weapons, not scrap and adapted from kitchen utensils!" he yelled.

Yun thought about the grinning Atsuko, remembering how she was so skinny that he could count her ribs. He thought of their ramshackle tent village. He thought of the last eleven children who passed away from pneumonia during the winter. Of two Genins and a Chunin who died from festering wounds inflicted by a group of bandits and missing nin, along with another Genin who had to have an arm amputated.

"We must survive Yun. Sometimes it is not honest, sometimes it is not right, but we do what we must to survive. That is the ninja way," Okabe said solemnly. Softly. Apologetically.

Yun swallowed hard and bowed his head in defeat. His headband adorned with the proud symbol of Kumo felt heavier than it had ever did before…

* * *

><p><strong>Kirigakure<strong>  
><em><strong>Water Country<strong>_

Eiji Suzuki adjusted his jacket with a faint grimace. The ambient temperature of the Tank tended to vary at times; becoming chilly or very humid.

The unofficial name of the Strategic Information Data Processing and Analysis Center came the gigantic blocks filled with water that made up almost three entire walls of the box-like room from the floor to the very ceiling. Each wall consisted of many separate tanks of water stacked on top of each other and the water within each of these tanks were refreshed hourly. Even as he watched, laser arrays spat out bursts of light that formed into complex streams of data while others formed three-dimensional images of people and places as their information was updated and refined.

A tall and slender beauty strode into the Tank with a pair of ninja bodyguards at her side, although they swerved off as she approached Suzuki. She smiled. "You have an update on Lightning Country, Analyst Suzuki?"

He nodded nervously as he reminded himself that this was the Mizukage and that she could kill him in the blink of an eye as he fought to keep his eyes focused on her face and not towards her generous cleavage.

"Yes ma'am!" and he quickly gestured and touched a few keys on his console causing part of the Tank to light up, showing a tactical map of Lightning Country. Glowing lines showed Rock Nin troop movement and certain shaded areas indicated areas that they controlled. Others indicated the territories of certain bandits and warlords.

"We have received confirmation that Rock Nins have taken the capital and have captured the Lightning Damiyo alive."

Mei snorted. "I suspect he'll be wishing that he _**is**_ dead if Enma Daio has his way."

It was not entirely humorous.

The newest Tsuchikage's nickname of _'King of Hell'_ was not undeserved as he had shown a reputation for bloody minded savagery and merciless retribution on his enemies. And he had a fairly elastic definition on whom he considered his enemies; as his so-called friends and allies sometimes found out.

He was a fairly paranoid bastard who would murder a hundred innocent men if that was what it took to get the one suspected traitor.

It amazed her that his men were so terrified of Enma Daio that none dared to stand up to this tyrant. Having seen so much death and bloodshed from a tyrant Kage like Yagura; she could not understand why anyone would willingly follow one. You were just as likely to become the target of said madman as anyone else, depending on his whim. It would make her life so much easier if his men got off their damn knees and cut this maniac's fucking throat … but it seemed that would be asking for too much.

She raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Confidence?"

"High. The reports were generated by intercepts from the Remote Spies."

Mei nodded. One of Kiri's biggest problems in the past was that they were relatively disconnected from the rest of the Elemental Countries. Messages, rumors, and information tended to pass through to them much slower than the rest of the Hidden Villages. Even pre-Yagura, Kiri Nins rarely went out into the rest of the Elemental Countries except for specific missions. All of which contributed to their relative isolation and ignorance of what was occurring in the rest of the world. By the time, they found out something, it could be months old and completely out of date.

One of the attempts to improve Kiri's intelligence network was the Remote Spies. They were alternatively a Godsend in intelligence gathering from her analysts' point of view … and a damn nightmare from her counterintelligence agents' if anyone else were to get their hands on them.

It was a Hidden Seal that served to store and then relay a visual record of any events as well as spoken conversations within a certain radius of them. Kiri had spent a considerable amount of time, money, and effort into seeding all sorts of locations and places with these Seals.

As it were; they were now facing an overflow of information and were having problems sorting through all of worthless garbage for the one or two gems of real intelligence.

"However, we are missing quite a bit of information as well. It's been almost a month and we still have not located the Rock Nin's entry port."

Sadly, that was the pitfall of the Remote Spies as well. They were emplaced in one spot and thus, their coverage was sometimes thin or nonexistent in some cases.

"I believe we need greater coverage of the ongoing situation in Lightning," Suzuki continued. "I would like to request the use of the Recon Drones."

A new piece of technology that was almost as promising as the Remote Spies for intelligence gathering purposes; the Recon Drones was miniature spies that could fly in the air and even maneuver according to the operators' directions and gather information.

Mei was of the belief that they would provide better tactical information rather than strategic data like the Remote Spies. However the technology was still not perfected yet though; there was an ongoing problem in endurance and every so often, the control devices would malfunction. Not to mention that they were notoriously fragile and horribly expensive to boot.

So far, the Recon Drones were restricted to use in Alliance territory only. While the Recon Drones would provide additional intel, there was too good a chance that using them in Lightning would reveal their existence. And the Alliance wasn't ready yet to have their full military and technological capabilities to be revealed to the Elemental Countries at large.

"I am denying the use of the Recon Drones at this present time," she said stonily. "I believe that maintaining the secret of their existence is paramount. I will reassign more analysts available to you and your section group and you will have unrestricted access to any resources you require. I will also discuss matters with the Shogun later today about releasing several Infiltration Specialists into Lightning for direct site human intelligence."

Suzuki nodded regretfully as he continued, "The most recent event is that as of this morning, several refugees crossed the Frost/Lightning border. Messages have been dispatched relating the presence of Rock Nins in Lightning."

Frankly Mei was amazed that it had taken this long for the invasion of a nation by a foreign power to be discovered.

"Frost Ninjas are mobilizing to reinforce the borders. Waterfall is sending reinforcements and have already dispatched twelve ninjas. They are also attempting to reorganize their forces to pry loose more available ninjas."

Mei glanced at one of the semi-permanent displays on the Tank of a world map that continually updated itself of ongoing Kiri missions and it's operatives scattered across the world in addition to potential threats and even neutral military forces. She pointed at the blinking icon of a stylized leaf. "And what about Konoha?" she asked.

"They just received the urgent message a few hours ago, but they have not responded at all," Suzuki replied after a quick glance at his displays. "And the courier hawks have yet to reach Sand or Wave."

Mei scowled impatiently. It was sometimes frustrating as Wave was their point of contact with the rest of the Elemental Countries; so until the message reached there, the Alliance had to pretend that they didn't know what was going on. Even though they _**did**_ know and perhaps even had better information of what was going on than the ones in the middle of the war zone.

Even then, she wasn't willing to lay odds that the Damiyos would request the Shogun to participate in any sort of War Council to discuss the Lightning Country Invasion. After all, the Shogun of the Eastern Alliance had merely earned his position through military force of arms and had not been _**born**_ to the exalted position of authority like them.

She snorted mentally. _What did the Water Damiyo do about Yagura when he embarked on his Bloodline Purges? Not a blasted thing! _

No, the Damiyos were affronted at having to treat a jumped up commoner as though he were of equal rank to them. Particularly after his offense at replacing one of their own.

_Besides, if that actually happened, it might give their inferiors … __**ideas**__ about replacing their worthless asses. Kami forbid that! _Mei thought sarcastically, slightly miffed at their treatment of her Shogun. Then she struggled to refocus her attention on Suzuki droning on about current Rock Nin movement as she would have to pass on this information to the Shogun and his Advisory Council later on today.

* * *

><p><strong>Konohagakure<strong>  
><em><strong>Fire Country<strong>_

Kakashi sauntered into the Council Chambers. "Yo! Sorry I'm late, I got lost in the bathroom and couldn't find my way out until just now."

Shikamaru Nara snorted and rolled his eye at his companion, Neji Hyuuga who glanced over the perpetually tardy Hokage and made a few last quiet words before he stood up stiffly and limped over towards the Hyuuga Chair.

It was a shame that Neji had been one of the earliest casualties of Danzo's war program. During the invasion of Grass, he had been attacked by a series of poison gas bombs that had slowed him down enough that he was hit by a crippling attack that left him with a bad limp and occasional asthma attacks. It was an indication of how many Hyuuga had bled and died for Konoha that Neji; a member of the Branch House was acting as the Clan Head for the Hyuuga instead of a Main House member.

Shikamaru on the other hand, looked like a younger and much more badly scarred version of his late father. He had lost his right eye as well as gaining his considerable facial scarring from a shrapnel blast of debris into his face and upper torso at Hidden Rain. Unlike Neji though, he was able to return to the field as an active ninja.

Kakashi was relieved because they were the youngest Council Members and also his strongest supporters. They were not only reasonable and intelligent, but ninjas who had close and bitter experience in war. Both of them had lost family and team members on the battlefield.

Kakashi settled himself in his chair. He had to admit that the Hokage had the nicest seat in the place. He swept his single eye over the Council Chambers.

The Konoha Council composed of three separate divisions. The first was the Clan Heads; most of whom were useless and were it not for the gigantic sticks wedged up their asses, Kakashi would have thought that they all shared a jutsu that contorted their bodies in order to better ram their heads up there.

Only the oldest and most respected of Clans had a seat here; although two of the chairs reserved for the Uchiha and Senju Clans were empty.

Many of the faces had changed in the Clan Heads. Far too many of them were wiped out thanks to that moron Danzo and in some cases, the survivors were left to fill in. It had been one hell of a ride for them and Kakashi as many of them were inexperienced, younger than usual, or in some cases; totally unprepared or unexpected to inherit the role.

The majority of the civilians on the other hadn't changed all that much aside from one or two new faces. They were also considerably smaller in numbers compared to the Clan Heads. They were mainly for logistical support of Konoha. They tended to stay out of the way and keep their mouths shut until asked.

However the biggest block consisted of the ninjas who ran Konoha; the Head of the ANBU; the Chief Medical Officer; the Intelligence Director; the Internal Security Chief; the Communications Chief; the Torture & Interrogation Division Head; the Ninja Academy Headmaster; and the Senior Jounins.

Once everyone was settled, he quickly related the invasion of Lightning Country by Iwagakure.

Predictably, the Clan Heads reacted first; most of them denouncing the invasion. The Ninja Force Commanders were however ambivalent; some of advocating an attack while most seemed concerned about sending so many ninjas when they had so little available. Only the civilians were looking at each other warily at the fact that war was looming on the horizon.

Kakashi let it build before slamming his palm down. "QUIET!" he barked. He waited until everyone shut up and was gazing at him expectantly. He leaned back in his chair and assumed a nonchalant expression. "This was just for the Council's knowledge. We will not be sending any ninja reinforcements to Frost."

That started a new round of muttering.

A rather attractive woman with fierce tattoos on her face, the new Inuzaka Head (Hana was her name Kakashi believed), leapt to her feet. "We have a mutual alliance treaty with Frost! Are we to just ignore that?" she protested.

Neji nodded grimly. "I agree. Our manpower levels are still extremely low, but if we break that treaty then no one will respect Konoha's word ever again. Once our credibility is gone, we will not be able to get it back."

"Our exact assistance terms were never specifically detailed in the treaty. We will offer medics, goods, and financial assistance but we cannot commit any ninjas to assist them," Kakashi commanded. "Besides, our forces may not be very welcome in Frost. They also have sent messages to several other Hidden Villages such as Waterfall and Sand."

Most of the Council winced at that. Neither Village was on particularly good terms with Konoha.

Waterfall was holding a bit of a grudge at Danzo's deception of pretending to be an ally by requesting an urgent audience with the Leader of Waterfall and then invading their Hidden Village, conquering it and killing a sizeable percentage of their already small ninja forces.

Danzo had then proceeded to try and discover the secrets of the 'Hero Water' by performing experiments on pieces of their legendary tree. ROOT had managed to create an artificial version of the Hero Water, but it proved to be hideously unstable and had even worse side effects than the original. In addition, they had forcibly extracted so many samples from the legendary tree, it was irreparably damaged and slowly dying.

As for Sand; Danzo extorted far higher war reparations than the amounts previously agreed to by Tsunade which severely annoyed them. But the ascension of Gaara to the position of Kazekage had sealed their relations with Konoha as he was enraged at their treatment of his 'brother' Jinchuuriki.

Danzo's assassination attempt at the Kage Summit might also have something to do with Gaara's rather cold treatment of Konoha. Kami knew that a little attempted homicide would not endear Kakashi with warm and fuzzy feelings toward the would-be murderer.

Kakashi gripped the armrests of his chair. But however much he disagreed with this course of action, even he had to obey orders…

* * *

><p>In the end, Kakashi decided that he would have to tell the Damiyo first. Irritably, he drummed his fingers on the table top as he continued to wait. While he couldn't prove it, he suspected that the Damiyo was simply prolonging this conference call because he didn't want to talk to him. Suddenly, one of the communication techs straightened and began fiddling with the dials. "We have contact! Locking onto signal now!" she said and the screen blurred and showed static before it snapped into definition, showing the Fire Damiyo's sour face.<p>

Kakashi immediately bowed. "My Lord Damiyo, you honor me with your presence."

The Damiyo made a curt nod. "Speak Kakashi," he ordered with a dismissive wave, foregoing any titles.

"Konoha has just received word from Frost Country. They report a large number of refugees have crossed the border and claim that Lightning Country has been invaded by a contingent of Rock Ninjas."

The Damiyo looked befuddled. An expression, Kakashi was sure that he was undoubtedly familiar with.

"Invaded? By Iwagakure?" he blurted out in confusion. "Impossible! Those refugees must be mistaken."

"Frost seems convinced Lord Damiyo."

The Fire Damiyo sniffed in derision. "They haven't seen these so-called ninjas have they? They're just taking the word of a gaggle of refugees about it."

Kakashi grimaced as he had to admit that was true.

"Besides, how could Iwagakure send a large contingent of ninjas through so many countries without anyone noticing?" he waved it off, "These refugees are panicky and confused."

Kakashi brought up the possibility of a sea lift of troops but the Damiyo waved him off. "Nonsense! Besides, why would the Earth Damiyo want to invade Lightning Country?"

Kakashi resisted the urge to smack him. After all, it wouldn't do any good. The moron was merely a projected image, not in person. Kakashi cleared his throat, "My Lord Damiyo, no one has heard any word or had any contact or even seen the esteemed Earth Damiyo for nearly twelve years. We have heard rumors that the Yondaime Tsuchikage has…"

"Rumors! Hearsay and gossip!" the Damiyo cried. "No, no. I refuse to listen to such ridiculous twaddle!"

Kakashi was thankful he habitually wore his face mask because it hid the fact that he was grinding his teeth. "Have you _**heard**_ from the Earth Damiyo recently my Lord?" he inquired as politely as he could manage.

But the Damiyo clearly knew sarcasm when he heard it. Acidly he retorted, "No. But neither has anyone **else** Hatake."

"Irregardless, Frost has requested aid from us. I intend to dispatch several ninja teams to—"

The Damiyo instantly smashed his hand on the table. "Absolutely not!" he roared. "Our borders are not secure! Our forces have barely recovered from the Akatsuki Wars! And you intend to send the flower of my ninja forces to fight in some small skirmish hundreds of leagues from Fire Country and that has nothing to do with us? That is the height of folly Kakashi! I categorically refuse to allow you to do such an irresponsible action!"

Kakashi mentally cursed.

"Your predecessor was entirely too fond of provoking these conflicts! I will not allow you to drag us into another one!"

Kakashi silently burned. _And what idiotic fuckwit approved Danzo for the post, oh right … that was you. _He fantasized briefly of snapping the neck of this mush-brained imbecile. Unfortunately, he had no desire to appoint himself as ruler of Fire Country like the Shogun of the Eastern Alliance. He had a hard enough time holding Konoha together to deal with that massive headache that post would have included. Which successfully killed any temptation he might have nursed for ending this idiot's life.

He reluctantly agreed to not send any ninja forces to Frost. After a moment, he took a deep breath. "I strongly urge you to consider reinforcing our border patrols and dispatch warning messages to the militia to increase their readiness status."

"No, no, no!" the Damiyo shouted, his Adam's apple bobbing frantically. "That would be entirely too confrontational! Wars have started that way Kakashi!"

_Wars have been __**lost**__ that way, you simpering—_Kakashi cut that traitorous thought off. He wondered if the Damiyo bothered to read his history. As far as Kakashi could tell; nobody ever bothered to inform his enemies when he intended to attack them. It just ruined the surprise after all.

He had stalked off to stare at the Hokage Monument while he tried to calm down and regain control of his temper. Mainly so he didn't Chidori the next idiot who talked to him. Particularly since he was going to have to meet with the Council later on. It was safer for them. For some reason, it offended them when he arbitrarily executed one of them just for opening their stupid mouths. Sure he'd feel better but he would have to deal with all sorts of crap from the fallout afterwards…

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** One thing that I've noticed recently in some of the fanfics I read is the existence of a combined Council in Konoha with both civilians and clan heads on it; and this Council is often corrupt with the civilians being the dominant force. It's not a bad concept but I didn't want to repeat things consistently so my version of the Council is that it consists of three parts with the civilian portion is a small fraction that barely breathes without the permission of the ninjas—it is a Hidden Village after all so I would assume that ninjas would be the ruling force.

* * *

><p><strong>CURRENT STATUS CHART:<br>**(16 YEARS AFTER SASUKE RETRIEVAL MISSION)

**KAKASHI HATAKE: **ALIVE; former Jounin Sensei of TEAM 7; currently Nandaime (Seventh) Hokage of Konohagakure

**MIGHT GUY: **ALIVE; former Jounin Sensei of TEAM GUY; currently Jounin and active Konoha Ninja

**ONOKI:** DECEASED; Sandaime (Third) Tsuchikage of Iwagakure; killed under unknown circumstances during the Akatsuki Wars

**JIRAIYA:** ALIVE; former Toad Sage of Mt. Myoboku until Konoha exiled Naruto Uzumaki and refused to repudiate Konoha, was removed as the Toad Summoner which has drastically reduced his powers; active Konoha Ninja

**TSUNADE SENJU:** MISSING; former Godaime (Fifth) Hokage of Konohagakure; chose to resign shortly after the exile of Naruto Uzumaki from Konoha; current whereabouts and condition unknown

**DANZO SHIMURA:** DECEASED; former Rokudaime (Sixth) Hokage of Konohagakure; after the resignation of the Fifth Hokage, he arranged to have himself appointed as the replacement Hokage; responsible for invasion of Hidden Waterfall, Grass, and Rain and a failed assassination attempt at the Five Kage Summit; killed under unknown circumstances

**KABUTO YAKUSHI: **ALIVE; former spy of Sasori of the Red Sands and Konoha Genin Ninja turned Nuke-nin (Missing Ninja) under Orochimaru; currently the Nidaime (Second) Otokage

**GAARA OF THE DESERT: **ALIVE; Jinchuuriki of Ichibi no Shukaku (One-Tailed Demon Beast) and the Godaime (Fifth) Kazekage of Sunagakure; survived an assassination attempt by Danzo at the Five Kage Summit

**SAKURA HARUNO: **ALIVE; former member of TEAM 7

**ASUMA SARUTOBI: **DECEASED; Jounin Sensei of TEAM 10; Konoha Ninja; killed under unknown circumstances

**KILLER B: **DECEASED; Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi (Eight-Tailed Demon Beast) and Kumo Ninja; killed under unknown circumstances during the Akatsuki Wars

**A:** DECEASED; Yondaime (Fourth) Raikage of Kumogakure; killed under unknown circumstances during the Akatsuki Wars

**MEI TERUMI: **ALIVE; Godaime (Fifth) Mizukage of Kirigakure and the Eastern Alliance

**NEIJI HYUUGA: **ALIVE; former Konoha Ninja and member of TEAM GUY; retired after suffering crippling injuries at the Invasion of Hidden Grass; currently acting Head of the Hyuuga Clan

**SHIKAMARU NARA: **ALIVE; active Konoha Ninja; currently Head of the Nara Clan


	3. The Art of Espionage

**Port Taki  
><strong>_**Waterfall Country**_

Located near the northern tip of Waterfall Country, Port Taki had once been a popular harbor. Once upon a time. That was of course, before the Akatsuki Wars which had devastated Rice Country, leaving most of it a barren wasteland.

Some proclaimed it was the result of one of Orochimaru's mad experiments gone awry while others thought it might have been part of the Akatsuki's rampage of destruction itself.

But as Rice Country lacked a deep water port and as much of their crop had to be shipped overseas, it was taken to Port Taki where the grain was shipped off to various other ports of call in Earth Country or Lightning Country; as overland travel to those countries were rather difficult from Rice ranging from impassable rivers to steep mountain chains.

But with their main source of income drying up in addition to Earth Country having turned isolationist, sealing up their borders and closing down their ports; Port Taki had dwindled to a withered skeleton of its former bustling self that managed to limp along as a small fishing village.

A grizzled old sailor, Gen Tamura strolled into one of the few businesses still operating; the dockside bar and made for his usual stool.

"Hey Gen," the bartender called out. "We just got some nice sake from Swamp Country. Wanna try a shot?"

Gen did not react in the slightest to the coded statement. "Just my usual," he ordered. He sipped his tankard of beer, one eye fixed on the dirty mirror mounted behind the bar and waited until he saw one of the patrons stumble towards the sole restroom and finished draining his tankard.

After a minute, he rose to his feet and shambled down the corridor. With the restroom occupied, he simply continued out of the back door and into the alley. He undid the ties of his pants and began relieving himself against the brick wall.

However, one hand reached out and touched a loose brick in the wall, sliding it free. He reached in and pulled out a small scroll from the dead drop. Without looking, he tucked it into his sleeve and replaced the brick before he finished urinating and reentered the back hallway, making a show of readjusting his pants.

He ordered another tankard and spent a little over half an hour to finish it before he settled up his tab and proceeded home with a slight sway in his step. Once he was safely indoors however and made a quick security sweep, his inebriated state evaporated and he fished out the scroll and carefully deactivated the security seal that would have immolated the scroll and a good portion of his house had he tried to release it incorrectly. He unrolled it and studied the blocks of letters. It was in code of course. It took him nearly an hour to laboriously decrypt it.

Methodically, he filed the new sheets of transcribed information away with the rest even as he mentally reviewed his preparations for the forthcoming information drop.

* * *

><p><strong>Shogun of War<strong>

**Chapter 3:** The Art of Espionage

* * *

><p><strong>New Sunagakure<br>**_**Wind Country**_

_It still felt strange,_ Kankuro mused. He had developed a new habit of walking the streets of New Suna after a leisurely lunch. In Old Suna, he had spent most of his time indoors as the cursed windblown sand got in everywhere. Particularly in puppet joints.

He paused and watched as a group of Chunins were replacing one of the gigantic mirror reflectors' mounting braces high in the rooftop ceiling of the enormous carved out cavern of New Suna.

The mirror reflectors were the reasons why New Suna was as brightly lit as if they were on the surface. And the light and airy feel came from the tremendous amounts of transparent glass that made up much of the buildings and surfaces instead of the dull sandstone that used to make up the compositions of old Suna's buildings. It certainly gave the illusion that they weren't several hundred feet below the surface.

_Though it wasn't the only thing that was different,_ he noted as he watched a group of children all playing in a wading pool/fountain. Swimming was rapidly becoming the most popular pastime in Suna. Kankuro would have choked out a laugh if someone had told him that over a decade ago and then demanded to know what they was smoking and why wasn't they sharing any.

Like many older Sand Nins, he had been forced to undergo basic water survival training once the new deepwater wells had been bored out but he still disliked it. There was something … deeply unnatural about dunking your body in a pool of water and thrashing your limbs about. Although he would confess that he had grown rather fond of the water showers for bathing; a luxury he freely admitted to becoming addicted to.

He had grown up in a period of Suna's history where water was more precious than gold and was something you were supposed to hoard and ration. Not waste with these swimming pools and cascading fountains and artificial lakes and streams that served no purpose. One of the biggest attractions in New Suna was a gigantic roaring waterfall. He had once visited it out of curiosity but had felt sick seeing such a massive waste of valuable liquid being flushed down into a chasm and never returned again.

Of course, the biggest change of them all happened to be his younger brother. Kankuro paused in the middle of an arch bridge when he spotted Gaara standing below in a sunken garden in the midst of a group of people. And they were all smiling and laughing instead of screaming and trying to run away in terror. He still could not get over the fact that over 16 years ago, all of Suna lived in fear of being killed on a whim by his sociopathic sibling … including Kankuro.

Back then they used to whisper all sorts of names about Gaara: _Murderer. Killer. Demon. Freak. Monster._ Now they called him _Lord Kazekage_ or simply _Lord Gaara._ Or the more popular ones the civilian population was circulating was _Gaara the Artificer_ or _Gaara the Builder_ since all of New Suna was the result of his work.

Hell, they were calling him the Greatest Kazekage of them all. Kankuro wasn't too sure about that statement; Gaara had some stiff competition in his opinion by way of the Shodaime Kazekage—but even he would admit that Gaara's successors would have a lot to live up to in order to fill his sandals.

He was about to continue his random meandering when he saw a Chunin appear in a explosion of wind near Gaara and gave him a brief report, making frantic gestures with his arms.

Kankuro frowned, wondering what was up now and if he should cut his walk short…

* * *

><p><strong>Kirigakure<br>**_**Water Country**_

Mei Terumi sighed as she shuffled through her briefing papers. Which there was a lot of. As usual.

Her job had expanded exponentially with the formation Eastern Alliance. She was no longer just the Mizukage but was also technically the Minister of War of the Alliance. Which was a headache that she would have just as eagerly have foresworn. The truth was that the way that things were going, the job was simply too big for any one person and she had already radically recentralized her responsibilities with various people heading various divisions and departments. The days were long gone where she oversaw or signed off one every single decision.

So far, everything was relatively stable in the Alliance. About the only real benefit of suffering under various tyrants and dictators for several years was that the general populace viewed the Shogun's rise to power with borderline hysterical relief. Wave, Spring, and Water Country had all suffered under the auspices of Gato, Doto Kazahana, and Yagura respectively. And they had eagerly embraced the rule of the Shogun who offered them safety, security, stability, and prosperity.

Most of them at least.

Mei still had a few lingering pockets of discontent to mop up. So far, they were all small and petty problems or contained, but Mei was trained to think of potential threats. And what she saw concerned her and her analysts. The Alliance needed far less internal dissentions to distract them at this critical time.

There was a small faction in Wave Country which was currently agitating against the Shogun's rule. They were mainly centered around a group of smaller shipping magnates who believed that the current taxes were exorbitant and far preferred it back when they didn't have to pay any taxes at all.

Spring Country had a crop of isolationists who were scared out of their tiny little minds about their formerly quiet and isolated country becoming involved in world affairs. There was also an intellectual pacifist movement that was concerned about the growing militarism of the Eastern Alliance and the number of weapons that they were developing. At last report, the two factions seemed to be growing closer together surprisingly and might even be combining together soon.

Water Country on the other hand had the biggest set of internal problems. First was a small but persistent group of nobles who resented the severe curtailing of their power upon the rise of the Shogun. _Imagine! He was insisting on all sorts of pesky laws that actually believed in equality between them and mere commoners! They were no longer able to whip lazy peasants or worse … they had to pay them for their work!_ She blew out a disgusted breath that was accompanied by a brief flicker of fire. It was such a pity that the Shogun hadn't slaughtered that bunch along with the Damiyo and his supporters.

In addition, there was a lingering distrust against bloodline holders. While any bigots were well and truly cowed into submission, she suspected that there were some who retained a certain degree of fondness for the "good ol' days" of Yagura's reign, insanely enough. So far, any sort of movement hadn't stepped too far out of line, but Mei wanted to crush them just on general principles.

Finally, there was a rather sizeable contingent of anti-technologists who were genuinely scared to death of the innovative technology that was rapidly becoming available. Aside from pushing a number of people out of their formerly secure jobs and occupations, they also feared what these modernized mechanical monstrosities could do. Mei didn't entirely blame them. She felt a bit leery of some of the technologies as well, but she was far too much of a pragmatic to ignore them either.

Water Country had undergone so much upheavals under Yagura that much of the population were wary of changes. Much less the rapid modernization that they were being forced to undergo. All of these changes seemed to threaten their slow and stable lives. But the Shogun could not afford to slowly introduce things and allow slow incremental changes. Not now. Not when the Eastern Alliance desperately needed every single advantage that they could get.

Earth Country was on the move. And she was convinced that the Eastern Alliance was going to be one of the first of Enma Daio's targets of conquest. They were after all the most dangerous military threat to him.

But Kiri wasn't ready. Not yet at least. She would have preferred to have at least another ten years, perhaps fifteen on the outside to build up and train her new combined forces; but things were moving faster than she would have liked.

And although their technological advantage was climbing rapidly, it still wasn't quite as high as she would have preferred. Her forces were feeling their way into using the new technology and tactics that they offered.

But Kiri was faced with another problem. Specifically in size. Water Country was the smallest of the Elemental Countries and as a result, their population size reflected that. Wave and Spring Country weren't exactly the largest or most crowded of nations either. They were growing, but they were still small in comparison to the major countries.

On the other hand, Earth Country was easily five times the size of Water and boasted a population base that far exceeded their own. And while Iwa had expended considerable causalities in the Third and Fourth Shinobi Wars, Mei suspected that they had recovered. Which was the only reason why Enma Daio had launched his offensive now.

Thus the Eastern Alliance was outnumbered by a sizeable margin and would have rely on their superior technology and training to make up the difference in numbers.

Theoretically it was an interesting strategic and tactical problem.

Realistically though, it bore a number of awkward and nerve-racking concerns for Mei Terumi as her nation, her soldiers, and quite possibly her Shogun would all be fighting for their survival in the very near future. _Awkward and nerve-racking was rather optimistic,_ she mentally sighed. If she screwed things up, it would be _**her**_ fault that they were all killed.

Her only consolation was that the King of Hell had decided against taking on the biggest threat and had instead focused on subduing the weaker forces arrayed against him. On the other hand, she grudgingly had to give him some credit in that he and his forces would have been on a very thin, tenuous, and exposed supply chain in trying to take the Eastern Alliance on. It fit in his profile. The Yondaime Tsuchikage might be power hungry and ruthless, but he wasn't stupid—unfortunately for Kiri. It would have been so much easier if he was an incompetent.

Even so, beating Lightning Country into submission and absorbing it into his empire would probably take a while. Iwa might even take sufficient causalities that it would slow them down further.

_Now was there any way for Kiri to force Iwa to weaken themselves further? To force them to expend themselves more? It was an interesting idea,_ she mused to herself.

She quickly composed a memo and with the tap of a key, she electronically sent to it to Advanced Strategy & Tactics Center to see if they could come up with some ideas. It might be worth it to see if they could game out any feasible strategies…

* * *

><p><strong>Guard Border Station<br>**_**Frost Country**_

Watanuki felt uncomfortable as he eyed the Frost Ninjas. He had heard stories of ninjas for years. How they could disappear in a shadow, shapeshift their bodies at will to become anyone, and paralyze your body with a look. Like many civilians, he went out of his way to avoid them if at all necessary.

However he would have felt even better if these inhuman warriors didn't look as nervous and worried as he did.

* * *

><p>"The refugees fled this way," Captain Riku said, tracing a route on the map of Lightning Country. "They say that the ninjas attacked here and here," he tapped one spot and then another on the map.<p>

The Jounin Frost Nin peered at it. "Dangai no Sato and Take no Sato," he muttered reading the slightly faded characters. "Ever been to either of them?" he inquired.

Riku shook his head in negation. "Not really. I have heard about those two villages though. They're small communities. Around 100 people, probably less and they're mostly farmers. Dangai has several craftsmen in blacksmithing and leather working, nothing spectacular. Good enough for the locals and Take produces wine from grapes, again just for local consumption. Neither of them export anything or are part of some trade route."

"Raiding for supplies? Security buffer zones? Scouting?" Mamoru Ishida, the Jounin Frost Nin murmured to himself thoughtfully. He shook his head and picked up the map and folded it up, nodding absently to the Guard Captain as he exited the tent.

_What were the Rock Nins up to?_ He wondered. He began giving his subordinates orders to reinforce the border with traps even as he eyed the position of the descending sun in the sky.

There was only one way for them to find out what the Rock Nins were up to. It would soon be nightfall and it would be time for ninjas to go to work_. _

_Should he delay scouting operations until reinforcements arrived? Waterfall Nins were en route but could he afford to wait that long? It might be several days to perhaps a week before they got here._

_And he had orders to defend the border "at all costs". _

_Of course, the best defense is a good offense. If the Rock Nins were busy defending themselves or concentrating on holding their newly gained territory, they would have little opportunity to think about attacking Frost Country. _

_The biggest problem was that Frost Nins tended to specialize. Much like the former Snow Nins of Snow Country; they primarily utilized jutsus that manipulated ice and snow—even if they couldn't create it like the lost Hyoton Bloodline. Usually it wasn't a problem as Frost was pretty much renowned for the availability (overwhelmingly so, some muttered) of ice and snow … but they would be at a distinct disadvantage once they moved out of Frost's climate. _

Mamoru eyed his busy subordinates._ He had so few of them! Still … _he mentally reviewed his knowledge of them, trying to pick the ones with the best stealth skills. _He could send a small detachment into Lightning on a scouting mission while the rest remained here. It wasn't the best plan, he desperately wanted to keep his limited numbers together. But I have to know what's going on in Lightning! _

_Of course, _Mamoru thought to himself grimly,_ it was probably the same for the Rock Nins who might be speculating just what Frost Country was doing and might be coming to take a gander at what __**they**__ were up to. All in all, it sounded like a great way to throw oil on an already crackling fire._

Mamoru had always wanted to be famous. To be listed in the Bingo Book, to have his name spoken with the same reverence of other respected A-Rank Shinobi.

Well, he had a bad feeling that he would soon earn his place in the history books.

_Mamoru Ishida, the blundering idiot who managed to start the Fifth Shinobi War was not the way I wanted to be remembered,_ he thought to himself glumly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Just thought I'd mention that none of the locations I've mentioned in this chapter are in fact a part of the Naruto-verse and are simply the product of my own imagination.

To try and stay true to the Japanese roots of Naruto, I did try and give them appropriate names.

For example: Taki is Japanese for _"waterfall"_ so it translates into Port Waterfall. Take no Sato is _"Mountain Village"_ and Dangai no Sato is _"Cliff Village"_ respectively.


End file.
